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Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Tue, 31 Mar 2015 22:14:48 GMT2015-03-31T22:14:48Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
Vatican supports Chilean bishop despite allegations of sex abuse cover-uphttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/31/vatican-juan-barros-chile-bishop-appointment-sex-abuse
<ul><li>Bishop Juan Barros accused of covering up crimes of paedophile priest</li><li>Critics charge Pope Francis with going back on pledge to curb church abuse</li></ul><p>The Vatican has issued a rare statement of support for a bishop in Chile who has been accused by abuse victims of covering up for a notorious paedophile priest, in a case that is sure to infuriate critics who say Pope Francis is straying from his commitment to ending the church’s legacy of abuse.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/17/pope-francis-sexual-abuse-allegations-chile-bishop-barros">Pope's promise to tackle abuse tested by appointment of Chilean bishop</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/31/vatican-juan-barros-chile-bishop-appointment-sex-abuse">Continue reading...</a>ChileVaticanCatholicismWorld newsReligionPope FrancisThe papacyRapeAmericasChristianityTue, 31 Mar 2015 14:52:17 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/31/vatican-juan-barros-chile-bishop-appointment-sex-abusePhotograph: Mario Mendoza Cabrera/APBishop Juan Barros, center, has been accused of ignoring sex abuse committed by Reverend Fernando Karadima, who was found guilty of molestation in 2011.Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome2015-03-31T14:52:17ZJohn Short obituaryhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/john-short-obituary
<p>My former colleague John Short, who has died aged 83, was an excellent journalist and an outstanding mentor to those keen to follow in his generation’s footsteps. His benign, light-hearted manner belied a rigorous belief in high standards but made it easy for young reporters and subeditors to take his lessons to heart.</p><p>Johne was born in Liverpool, one of five children of John, a General Post Office technician, and Agnes (nee Leary), a factory worker and cleaner. His devout Catholic roots led him initially to train for the priesthood at a seminary in Valladolid, Spain. But the wider world called, and after national service in the mid-1950s he landed jobs successively as a reporter at the Birkenhead Advertiser and St Helens Reporter, and then as a subeditor on the Liverpool Daily Post.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/john-short-obituary">Continue reading...</a>NewspapersNewspapers & magazinesMediaLiverpoolEducationJournalism educationCatholicismTue, 31 Mar 2015 14:03:57 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/john-short-obituaryPhotograph: Jon PutterillJohn Short initially trained as a priest, but the wider world called and he landed jobs on various newspapers, including the Liverpool Daily Post. Photograph: Jon PutterillPhotograph: Jon PutterillJohn Short initially trained as a priest, but the wider world called and he landed jobs on various newspapers, including the Liverpool Daily Post. Photograph: Jon PutterillMartin Wainwright2015-03-31T14:03:57ZChurch sorry for saying a 'faith filled' Jill Meagher would not have been killedhttp://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/30/church-sorry-for-saying-a-faith-filled-jill-meagher-would-not-have-been-killed
<p>Catholic archdiocese of Melbourne to bring in new guidelines after priest said rape and murder victim should ‘have been home in bed’</p><p>The Catholic archdiocese of Melbourne will introduce guidelines on Monday on “training and cultural understanding,” after one of its <a draggable="true" href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/29/jill-meaghers-family-criticise-catholic-priest-over-disgusting-claim">priests said</a> Jill Meagher would not have been raped and murdered had she been more “faith filled”.</p><p>The church was forced to apologise on Friday following the comments, made by a priest before a service of about 100 people at a Catholic primary school in Melbourne.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/30/church-sorry-for-saying-a-faith-filled-jill-meagher-would-not-have-been-killed">Continue reading...</a>Australia newsMelbourneVictoriaCrime - AustraliaCatholicismReligionChristianityMon, 30 Mar 2015 00:30:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/30/church-sorry-for-saying-a-faith-filled-jill-meagher-would-not-have-been-killedPhotograph: Facebook/AAPJill Meagher’s husband, Tom, said the priest’s comments were ‘shameful’.Photograph: Facebook/AAPJill Meagher’s husband, Tom, said the priest’s comments were ‘shameful’.Melissa Davey2015-03-30T00:30:26ZPalm Sunday celebrated worldwide – in pictureshttp://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2015/mar/29/palm-sunday-celebrated-wordwide-in-pictures
<p>Feast marks the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem and ushers in Holy Week ceremonies among Christians across the globe</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2015/mar/29/palm-sunday-celebrated-wordwide-in-pictures">Continue reading...</a>World newsCatholicismChristianityReligionPhotographySun, 29 Mar 2015 22:15:07 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2015/mar/29/palm-sunday-celebrated-wordwide-in-picturesPhotograph: Beata Zawrzel/Demotix/CorbisMark Wohlwender2015-03-29T22:15:07ZJill Meagher's family criticise Catholic priest over 'disgusting' claimhttp://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/29/jill-meaghers-family-criticise-catholic-priest-over-disgusting-claim
<p>Priest reportedly told students at a Melbourne primary school that if Meagher had been more ‘faith filled’ she would have been home and ‘not walking down Sydney Road at 3am’</p><p>• <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/30/church-sorry-for-saying-a-faith-filled-jill-meagher-would-not-have-been-killed"><strong>Church sorry for saying a ‘faith filled’ Jill Meagher would not have been murdered</strong></a></p><p>A Catholic priest in Melbourne has reportedly been criticised for a speech in which he said Jill Meagher would have been at home instead of out on the night she was raped and killed if she was more “faith filled”.</p><p>Meagher was murdered by Adrian Bayley after a night out Melbourne in September 2012. He was sentenced to life in prison.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/29/jill-meaghers-family-criticise-catholic-priest-over-disgusting-claim">Continue reading...</a>VictoriaCrime - AustraliaCatholicismVictorian politicsSun, 29 Mar 2015 05:36:50 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/29/jill-meaghers-family-criticise-catholic-priest-over-disgusting-claimPhotograph: Facebook/PR Image/AAPJill Meagher, who was murdered in Melbourne.Merran Hitchick2015-03-29T05:36:50ZPope faces protests by sex abuse board against bishop’s appointmenthttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/26/pope-faces-protests-by-sex-abuse-board-against-bishops-appointment
<p>Incredulity over Francis’s approval of Chilean bishop Juan Barros, who is alleged to have covered up for a notorious South American paedophile</p><p>Several members of Pope Francis’s sex abuse advisory board have expressed concern and incredulity over his decision <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/17/pope-francis-sexual-abuse-allegations-chile-bishop-barros">to appoint a Chilean bishop</a> to a diocese despite allegations that he covered up for the South American nation’s most notorious paedophile.</p><p>In interviews and emails with Associated Press, the experts have questioned the pope’s pledge to hold bishops accountable and keep children safe, given the record of Bishop Juan Barros in the case of the Rev Fernando Karadima.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/17/pope-francis-sexual-abuse-allegations-chile-bishop-barros">Pope's promise to tackle abuse tested by appointment of Chilean bishop</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/05/child-sex-abuse-pope-francis-clergy-bishops">Never try to cover up child sex abuse, Pope Francis tells clergy</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/26/pope-faces-protests-by-sex-abuse-board-against-bishops-appointment">Continue reading...</a>CatholicismPope FrancisChild protectionVaticanThe papacyWorld newsSocietyReligionChristianityChildrenChileAmericasThu, 26 Mar 2015 18:48:50 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/26/pope-faces-protests-by-sex-abuse-board-against-bishops-appointmentPhotograph: Zuma/RexPope Francis has pledged to hold bishops accountable and keep children safe.Photograph: Zuma/RexPope Francis has pledged to hold bishops accountable and keep children safe.Associated Press in Vatican City2015-03-26T18:48:50ZChild abuse victims deserve more than the commonwealth's excuses | Adam Breretonhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/26/child-abuse-victims-deserve-more-than-the-commonwealths-excuses
<p>The royal commission into child abuse has proposed its redress model. The commonwealth government rejected it before the report was even published</p><p>The moment when things went wrong for victims of child abuse in Australia was a very precise one. In the 1990s, Jeff Kennett, then premier of Victoria, met with George Pell, who was at that stage the Catholic archbishop of Melbourne. According to Pell, Kennett told him to “clean this [child abuse] thing up and there won’t be a royal commission”.</p><p>Kennett <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/jeff-kennett-warned-pell-to-deal-with-abuse-20140327-35lrw.html">told The Age last year</a> that he was “reassured that George said ‘yes’, he’d get stuck into it ... it’s not for me to sit in judgment … of whether the response was adequate or not”.</p><p>The commissioners are disappointed that although our terms of reference suggest that the need for effective redress has been accepted by all governments, the structural approach that is overwhelmingly supported by survivor advocacy and support groups and by many institutions as being most likely to ensure a just, fair and consistent outcome for all victims, wherever they may have suffered abuse, is not presently supported by the commonwealth.</p><p>It also seems clear from the commonwealth’s submission that it does not support an expansion of the public provision of counselling and psychological care for survivors, other than through improving survivors’ awareness of existing services and their level of confidence in these services.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/01/the-truth-is-that-child-abuse-in-australia-has-a-distinctively-catholic-character">The truth is that child abuse in Australia has a distinctively Catholic character | Adam Brereton</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/26/child-abuse-victims-deserve-more-than-the-commonwealths-excuses">Continue reading...</a>Royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuseAustralia newsAustralian politicsCatholicismReligionThu, 26 Mar 2015 06:14:25 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/26/child-abuse-victims-deserve-more-than-the-commonwealths-excusesPhotograph: Jeremy Piper/PR IMAGE‘Peter McClellan (L), the chief commissioner, spoke yesterday in very strong terms, particularly about the absence of the Commonwealth.’Adam Brereton2015-03-26T06:14:25ZPope Francis to meet brother of David Haines, aid worker beheaded by Isishttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/25/pope-francis-to-meet-brother-of-david-haines-aid-worker-beheaded-by-isis
<p>Face-to-face meeting comes amid signs Vatican would support military intervention against Islamic State to stem persecution of Christians in the region<br></p><p><br />Pope Francis is to meet the brother of David Haines, the British aid worker who was beheaded in Syria last year by Islamic State militants. </p><p>Mike Haines will meet the pontiff along with imam Shahnawaz Haque from east London, as part of a public appeal for greater interfaith tolerance and unity against extremism.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/13/briton-david-haines-portrait-father-man">David Haines: 'a fantastic man and father'</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/15/isis-21-egyptian-coptic-christians-beheading-libya">Isis claim of beheading Egyptian Copts in Libya shows group's spread</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/25/pope-francis-to-meet-brother-of-david-haines-aid-worker-beheaded-by-isis">Continue reading...</a>VaticanPope FrancisThe papacyIslamic StateChristianityCatholicismReligionWorld newsUK newsWed, 25 Mar 2015 10:26:13 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/25/pope-francis-to-meet-brother-of-david-haines-aid-worker-beheaded-by-isisPhotograph: Russell Cheyne/ReutersMike Haines, brother of David Haines, and Barbara Henning, wife of Alan Henning who was also murdered by Isis, at the memorial service for David Haines.Photograph: Russell Cheyne/ReutersMike Haines, brother of David Haines, and Barbara Henning, wife of Alan Henning who was also murdered by Isis, at the memorial service for David Haines.Photograph: Rex FeaturesDavid Haines. The British aid worker was beheaded in Syria last year by Islamic State militants.Photograph: Rex FeaturesDavid Haines. The British aid worker was beheaded in Syria last year by Islamic State militants.Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome2015-03-25T10:26:13ZOscar Romero: El Salvador holds masses on 35th anniversary of assassinationhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/25/oscar-romero-el-salvador-holds-masses-on-35th-anniversary-of-assassination
<p>Thousands attend services and march in pilgrimage through the capital as Catholic church prepares to beatify archbishop who was killed by rightwingers</p><p>Thousands of Salvadorans have&nbsp;attended special masses and marched in a pilgrimage through the capital to mark the 35th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, who is to be&nbsp;beatified&nbsp;later this year.</p><p>Marchers held up images of Romero and Pope Francis, who on 3 February&nbsp;declared the Roman Catholic cleric a martyr killed out of hatred for the faith. That declaration put Romero a step closer to possible canonisation.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/25/oscar-romero-el-salvador-holds-masses-on-35th-anniversary-of-assassination">Continue reading...</a>El SalvadorCatholicismAmericasChristianityReligionWorld newsWed, 25 Mar 2015 01:00:37 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/25/oscar-romero-el-salvador-holds-masses-on-35th-anniversary-of-assassinationPhotograph: ReutersA picture of Oscar Romero at a mass in San Salvador.Photograph: ReutersA picture of Oscar Romero at a mass in San Salvador.Photograph: Oscar Rivera/EPAWorshippers touch the tomb of Archbishop Oscar Romero during a march commemorating 35 years after his assassination.Photograph: Oscar Rivera/EPAWorshippers touch the tomb of Archbishop Oscar Romero during a march commemorating 35 years after his assassination.Associated Press in San Salvador2015-03-25T01:00:37ZTop Catholic school takes fight for admissions policy to courthttp://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/24/catholic-school-london-oratory-tony-blair-legal-fight-protect-admissions
<p>London Oratory, which has counted sons of Tony Blair, Nick Clegg and Harriet Harman among pupils, claims education watchdog is endangering its ethos</p><p>The religious ethos of one of England’s oldest state-funded Catholic boys’ schools is at risk after an education watchdog attacked its admissions code, the high court has heard.<br /></p><p>The London Oratory, which has attracted the sons of top politicians, is challenging findings by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA) that many aspects of its admission arrangements for 2014 and 2015 breached the schools admissions code.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/24/catholic-school-london-oratory-tony-blair-legal-fight-protect-admissions">Continue reading...</a>Faith schoolsEducationLondonSchoolsSchool admissionsUK newsCatholicismSecondary schoolsTue, 24 Mar 2015 18:37:21 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/24/catholic-school-london-oratory-tony-blair-legal-fight-protect-admissionsPhotograph: John Stillwell/PATony Blair’s sons were students at the London Oratory.Photograph: John Stillwell/PATony Blair’s sons were students at the London Oratory.Photograph: Fiona Hanson/PAA sign outside the London Oratory school, which claims the OSA made basic errors in its assessment of its admissions code.Press Association2015-03-24T18:37:21ZPope Francis’s half-miracle: why he’ll need more than that to become a sainthttp://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2015/mar/23/pope-francis-half-miracle-need-more-to-become-saint
Upon receipt of a papal kiss in Naples at the weekend, a vialful of a third-century saint’s blood reportedly half-liquefied. But those calling this ‘half a miracle’ may be betraying a fundamental misunderstanding of how miracles really work<p>Is the vial half-full or half-empty? This is the question facing the Catholic church after the “half-miracle” that occurred when <a href="http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/03/21/blood-of-st-januarius-liquifies-during-franciss-visit-to-naples/" title="">Pope Francis visited Naples cathedral at the weekend</a>. After addressing the congregation, the pope kissed a glass vial containing the blood of Saint Januarius, the city’s patron saint, which is when the supposed half-miracle occurred. Crescenzio Sepe, archbishop of Naples, held the vial up to the congregation and declared: “The blood has half-liquefied, which shows Saint Januarius loves our pope and Naples.”</p><p>It was said to be the first time the blood had liquefied in the presence of a pope since 1848. The blood remained untransfigured during the visits of John Paul II in 1979 and Benedict XVI in 2007. Since John Paul was made a saint less than 10 years after his death, surely Francis, too, will now have to be fast-tracked – or half-fast-tracked. Francis, though, was admirably modest about it. “The bishop just announced that the blood half-liquefied,” he told the congregation. “We can see the saint only half loves us. We must all spread the word, so that he loves us more!” For Francis, it seems, the vial was half-empty.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/05/pope-francis-john-paul-saint">Pope Francis to make John Paul II a saint</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2015/mar/23/pope-francis-half-miracle-need-more-to-become-saint">Continue reading...</a>Pope FrancisReligionCatholicismChristianityThe papacyWorld newsMon, 23 Mar 2015 16:13:14 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2015/mar/23/pope-francis-half-miracle-need-more-to-become-saintPhotograph: Fotonews/Splash News/CorbisDespite half-liquefying Saint Januarius’s blood with a kiss, Pope Francis’s official miracle count remains at zero.Photograph: Fotonews/Splash News/CorbisDespite half-liquefying Saint Januarius’s blood with a kiss, Pope Francis’s official miracle count remains at zero.Stephen Moss2015-03-23T16:13:14ZPope: 'Death penalty represents failure' – no 'humane' way to kill a personhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/20/pope-francis-death-penalty-catholic-church-opposition
<p>Pope Francis outlines the Catholic church’s opposition to capital punishment in a letter to the International Commission against the Death Penalty</p><p>Pope Francis says nothing can justify the use of the death penalty, and there is no “right” way to humanely kill another person.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/23/pope-francis-life-sentence-hidden-death-penalty-torture">Pope Francis blasts life sentences as ‘hidden death penalty’</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/20/pope-francis-death-penalty-catholic-church-opposition">Continue reading...</a>Capital punishmentCatholicismChristianityVaticanItalyFri, 20 Mar 2015 21:27:15 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/20/pope-francis-death-penalty-catholic-church-oppositionPhotograph: Zuma/RexThe pope wrote that the principle of legitimate personal defense isn’t adequate justification to execute someone.Associated Press in Vatican City2015-03-20T21:27:15ZPriest questioned over alleged 13 exorcisms on anorexic teenagerhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/20/priest-court-exorcisms-teenage-girl-anorexia-spain
<p>Court to investigate whether practice crossed line into abuse after girl’s parents sent her for exorcisms thinking she was possessed</p><p>A priest has been summoned to court to answer questions about more than a dozen exorcisms he allegedly carried out on an teenage girl with anorexia.<br /></p><p>The investigation began after the girl and members of her extended family complained to the Spanish authorities in August that she had been put through at least 13 exorcisms.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/20/priest-court-exorcisms-teenage-girl-anorexia-spain">Continue reading...</a>SpainEuropeWorld newsReligionCatholicismChristianityFri, 20 Mar 2015 17:13:12 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/20/priest-court-exorcisms-teenage-girl-anorexia-spainPhotograph: Ian Dagnall/AlamyCathedral in Burgos, Spain. A court is investigating exorcisms allegedly carried out on girl from the city.Photograph: Ian Dagnall/AlamyCathedral in Burgos, Spain. A court is investigating exorcisms allegedly carried out on girl from the city.Ashifa Kassam in Seville2015-03-20T17:13:12ZPope Francis accepts Scottish cardinal Keith O’Brien's resignationhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/20/pope-francis-accepts-scottish-cardinal-keith-obriens-resignation
<p>O’ Brien to step down from clerical duties following allegations of sexual misconduct, but will retain his title</p><p>Pope Francis has accepted the decision of the former leader of the Roman Catholic church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, to step down from clerical duties over allegations of sexual misconduct.</p><p>O’Brien will retain his title, but he will be reduced to a strictly private life. The resignation followed the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/04/vatican-bishop-investigates-sexual-allegations-cardinal-keith-obrien">decision by the pope to send a personal envoy, archbishop Charles Scicluna, to Scotland</a> last year to investigate the allegations.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/20/pope-francis-accepts-scottish-cardinal-keith-obriens-resignation">Continue reading...</a>CatholicismPope FrancisChristianityReligionThe papacyWorld newsScotlandFri, 20 Mar 2015 13:56:35 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/20/pope-francis-accepts-scottish-cardinal-keith-obriens-resignationPhotograph: Murdo Macleod/Murdo MacleodKeith O’Brien will be reduced to strictly private life.Photograph: Murdo Macleod/Murdo MacleodKeith O’Brien will be reduced to strictly private life.Mark Tran2015-03-20T13:56:35ZPope Francis, sometimes it’s not good to talk | Paul Vallelyhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/20/does-pope-francis-say-too-much
His public utterances on all manner of subject may seem scattergun or contradictory, but this pope is playing a long, tactical game<p>It’s a mistake to take too much notice of what the pope says. And funnily enough, he’d be the first to say so. By which I don’t mean that it won’t be worth listening when he <a href="http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/world-news/detail/articolo/francesco-francis-francisco-stati-uniti-united-states-estados-unidos-39845/" title="">makes the speech</a>, announced this week, to the United Nations general assembly in September. Pope Francis is due to publish the Catholic church’s first encyclical on the environment in a couple of months, and he’ll draw on that to argue in New York for greater international commitments to curb greenhouse gases. He’ll probably call for the rich to do much more to help poor people around the world already blasted by the effects of climate change.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/16/pope-francis-catholic-church-contraception">Pope Francis defends church’s opposition to artificial contraception</a> </p><p>He had a feeling, he told Mexican television, that his pontificate would be brief, just two or three years more</p><p>It was conservatives who were first most disconcerted. They bemoaned the ‘lamentable fuzziness' in his extemporaneity</p><p>What Francis is trying to do is devalue the coinage of papal utterances. He is doing something similar with the synod</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/20/does-pope-francis-say-too-much">Continue reading...</a>Pope FrancisReligionCatholicismChristianityThe papacyWorld newsFri, 20 Mar 2015 06:00:12 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/20/does-pope-francis-say-too-muchPhotograph: GuardianPope Francis. ‘I’ve always spoken that way. For some it’s a defect, I don’t know. But I think the people understand me.’ Photographs: Zuma/Rex; Zuma; Alessandra Tarantino/AP; Osservatore Romano/Reuters; AGF srl/Rex; Osservatore Romano; Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto/Rex; AGF srl/RexPhotograph: GuardianPope Francis. ‘I’ve always spoken that way. For some it’s a defect, I don’t know. But I think the people understand me.’ Photographs: Zuma/Rex; Zuma; Alessandra Tarantino/AP; Osservatore Romano/Reuters; AGF srl/Rex; Osservatore Romano; Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto/Rex; AGF srl/RexPaul Vallely2015-03-20T06:00:12ZHolocaust-denying bishop consecrates a bishop without pope's consenthttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/19/holocaust-denying-bishop-consecrate-bishop-without-pope-consent
<p>Bishop Richard Williamson’s consecration of bishop in Brazil is considered illegitimate and incurs an automatic excommunication of both men</p><p>A renegade traditionalist Roman Catholic bishop, who caused an uproar in 2009 by denying the Holocaust, defied the Vatican again on Thursday by consecrating a bishop without permission from Pope Francis.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/feb/07/vatican-pope-holocaust-bishop">Vatican crisis over bishop who denies the Holocaust</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/19/holocaust-denying-bishop-consecrate-bishop-without-pope-consent">Continue reading...</a>BrazilCatholicismChristianityReligionWorld newsVaticanThu, 19 Mar 2015 21:54:52 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/19/holocaust-denying-bishop-consecrate-bishop-without-pope-consentPhotograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesRoman Catholic bishop Richard Williamson defied the Vatican in 2009 by denying the Holocaust and saying no more than 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps.Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesRoman Catholic bishop Richard Williamson defied the Vatican in 2009 by denying the Holocaust and saying no more than 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps.Reuters in Rio de Janeiro2015-03-19T21:54:52ZHolocaust-denying bishop plans consecration without pope's consenthttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/18/vatican-bishop-consecration-without-pope-approval
<ul><li>Richard Williamson risks excommunication if he ordains new bishop on Thursday</li><li>Williamson said in 2009 that he does not believe the Holocaust happened</li></ul><p>A Holocaust-denying Catholic bishop who made headlines in 2009 when <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/25/pope-benedict-richard-williamson">Pope Benedict XVI rehabilitated him</a> and members of his breakaway traditionalist society is heading for new trouble with the Vatican.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/feb/07/vatican-pope-holocaust-bishop">Vatican crisis over bishop who denies the Holocaust</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/18/vatican-bishop-consecration-without-pope-approval">Continue reading...</a>VaticanReligionChristianityPope Benedict XVIPope FrancisCatholicismHolocaustThe papacyWorld newsWed, 18 Mar 2015 17:29:34 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/18/vatican-bishop-consecration-without-pope-approvalPhotograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesBishop Richard Williamson was previously excommunicated for being consecrated without papal consent, but Pope Benedict XVI reinstated him in 2009.Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty ImagesBishop Richard Williamson was previously excommunicated for being consecrated without papal consent, but Pope Benedict XVI reinstated him in 2009.Associated Press in Vatican City2015-03-18T17:29:34ZArchbishop charged with concealing sex abuse quits royal commission bodyhttp://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/18/archbishop-charged-concealing-sex-abuse-quits-royal-commission-body
<p>Victims’ advocates say Philip Wilson should also resign as archbishop of Adelaide and from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference</p><p>The Archbishop of Adelaide, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/17/archbishop-of-adelaide-charged-over-concealing-childrens-sex-abuse">charged on Tuesday</a> over the alleged cover up of child sexual abuse by a fellow priest, has stepped down from his role in a supervisory group that deals with the royal commission.<br /></p><p>Victims’ advocates have welcomed the charge, but labelled the church’s response to it “arrogant.”</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/18/archbishop-charged-concealing-sex-abuse-quits-royal-commission-body">Continue reading...</a>Royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuseCatholicismReligionAustralia newsAdelaideWed, 18 Mar 2015 08:37:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/18/archbishop-charged-concealing-sex-abuse-quits-royal-commission-bodyPhotograph: David Mariuz/AAPPhilip Wilson arriving to give evidence to the royal commision in Adelaide last year.Helen Davidson2015-03-18T08:37:00ZPope's promise to tackle abuse tested by appointment of Chilean bishophttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/17/pope-francis-sexual-abuse-allegations-chile-bishop-barros
<p>Politicians and church leaders demand resignation of Pope Francis’s appointment Juan Barros, who has been linked to a sexual abuse case involving minors</p><p>Pope Francis’s vow to stamp out sexual abuse by priests – and the Catholic church’s decades-long cover-up of such scandals – is being tested following the appointment of a bishop in Chile who has been linked to a notorious abuse case.<br /></p><p>Politicians and some church leaders in Chile have demanded the resignation of Juan Barros, the pope’s appointment as bishop of Osorno in southern Chile, following allegations that he helped cover up – and at times participated in – abuse against minors by his longtime mentor, a priest called Fernando Karadima.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/17/pope-francis-sexual-abuse-allegations-chile-bishop-barros">Continue reading...</a>ChileVaticanWorld newsAmericasPope FrancisCatholicismChristianityReligionThe papacyTue, 17 Mar 2015 18:25:23 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/17/pope-francis-sexual-abuse-allegations-chile-bishop-barrosPhotograph: APBishop Juan Barros arrives at the Episcopal Conference of Chile in El Quisco in 2011.Jonathan Franklin in Santiago and Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome2015-03-17T18:25:23ZArchbishop of Adelaide charged over concealing children's sex abusehttp://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/17/archbishop-of-adelaide-charged-over-concealing-childrens-sex-abuse
<p>Philip Wilson faces up to two years’ jail over his alleged cover-up of abuse by another priest, Jim Fletcher, in the 1970s</p><p>The archbishop of Adelaide has been charged by police over his alleged concealment of the sexual abuse of children by a priest in the 1970s.<br /></p><p>On Tuesday New South Wales police charged Philip Wilson, 64, of concealing a serious offence, and issued a court attendance notice.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/17/archbishop-of-adelaide-charged-over-concealing-childrens-sex-abuse">Continue reading...</a>Crime - AustraliaCatholicismNew South WalesAustralia newsTue, 17 Mar 2015 04:22:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/17/archbishop-of-adelaide-charged-over-concealing-childrens-sex-abusePhotograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAPArchbishop Philip Wilson is believed to be the highest-ranking Catholic official in the world to face criminal charges of this type.Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAPArchbishop Philip Wilson is believed to be the highest-ranking Catholic official in the world to face criminal charges of this type.Helen Davidson2015-03-17T04:22:05Z